Homecoming
by ThAtOtHeRpSyCoPaTh
Summary: Deryn and Alek go home to Glasgow to visit her mother and the Aunts who assume that she is most likely dead. What will they think of her and more importantly, her Clanker boyfriend? Will Alek and Jaspert get along? Will the Alek and Deryn even survive the weekend? Click to find out! Teen just because I'm paranoid, probably more like K
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello fans of _Leviathan! _This is my first _Leviathan _fic and I hope you like it! I had the house to myself so I couldn't justify not posting anything. Unfortunately I didn't have the next chapter for Finnick's Final Request (Hunger Games fans check it out!) ready yet so I decided to put this up. I've got half of the next chapter ready so I hope to get it up sometime next week.**

**School ends Wednesday so that means more frequent updating! Hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: If only I owned Leviathan...**

**Aww well, Scott does a pretty dang good job!**

"Are you quite sure you want to do this?" she asked him. They stood poised on the doorstep to her mother's house, Deryn looked nervous but not nearly as much as Alek was.

"They can't be as bad as you say they are." he replied nervously.

"Aye," she said gravely, "They're much worse." And with that she rang the doorbell. Not ten seconds later, a middle aged woman in a long, rather ugly, paisley skirt opened the door.

"Oh, Virginia, come quick, it's Deryn!" she called back into the house, "And God's wounds, she's brought a boy!

"Always the tone of surprise, Auntie Jo," Deryn muttered, "Is it really that barking miraculous?" Just as Auntie Jo pulled Deryn into a fierce hug, another woman stepped out. This woman was obviously Deryn's mother; she was tall, had the same light blond hair-although hers was starting to gray-, and long slender nose but she didn't have the same smile. No, Deryn's reckless grin, that sparkle in her eye, her brutally honest way with words, obviously belonged to her father.

"My baby," her mother whispered before pulling her close, "I thought for sure you were dead."

"Ma! Why in sodding hell would you think that?" Deryn said incredulously.

"Deryn!" her mother and Jo exclaimed simultaneously.

"Oops, sorry. That's how they talk in the military." she replied defensively. Alek chuckled, that's the only way he'd ever heard her talk, and he was looking forward to seeing who her family thought she was.

"Well, that's not how a proper lass ought to talk." her mother scolded, "You look half frozen dear. Come in, before you catch your death. And who might you be?" Mrs. Sharp, asked, finally noticing Alek.

"Ma, this is Alek, he's my-uh, he's my friend." Deryn said, stepping over the threshold. Alek was slightly hurt by the apparent downgrade, but he trusted Deryn and thought that she would probably be better about navigating these waters than he would.

"Your friend?" Aunt Jo asked, unbelieving.

"Aye, we met in Switzerland." Deryn replied, purposely omitting the very dangerous circumstance that had placed her in Switzerland.

"You don't look Swiss." Aunt Jo stated, taking his jacket.

"I'm not, I'm Austrian." Alek told her, figuring that lying would not make the best first impression.

"Austrian!" Mrs. Sharp gasped, "You're a Clanker!"

"Ma!" Deryn warned just as Alek said, "Well not exactly."

"Why don't we come in and sit down." Aunt Jo suggested.

"No, Josephine! I want to know what this, this Clanker wants with my daughter!"

"Mum, will you just listen for one barking minute!" Deryn said, exasperated.

"No, I want that Clanker out of my house." she said firmly.

"Maybe I ought to leave." Alek said quietly.

"Aleksander von Hohenberg, don't you move a barking inch." she said viciously, without taking her eyes off her mother, "He's not a barking Clanker, at least not a proper one. He's the sodding heir to the sodding whole Austro-Hungarian Empire. He's saved my sorry bum more times than I can sodding count. He's bloody brilliant and I barking reckon I love him."

"No, you're not _THE_ Prince Aleksander Ferdinand of Hohenberg, the one in all the papers?" Aunt Jo asked eyes wide.

Alek nodded just as Deryn smirked, "Aye, the very same."

"Virginia, he's famous." Aunt Jo breathed.

"Aye, I know." Deryn's mother replied calmly.

"God's wounds, Deryn's got herself a lad, and a barking handsome one, might I add." Aunt Jo gaped, "Blisters, a barking handsome prince! I must go find Gertrude and Margaret. They won't believe it!" And with that, Aunt Jo went off to go find her sisters, leaving Deryn and Alek alone with Mrs. Sharp.

"Well, don't just stand there, come in and sit down." Mrs. Sharp said, gesturing to a sitting room down the hall. Deryn started down the hall, but since she had stubbornly ignored Alek's reminders and "accidently" left her cane at the office of the Zoological Society, she was limping.

"Deryn! What did you do to your leg?" Virginia Sharp scolded.

"Ma, I'm fine. I just twisted my knee a couple of weeks ago in Mexico."

"This is exactly why girls aren't supposed to go to war, or even fly for that matter."

"Ma, it could have happened to anyone, girl or boy. Even Alek got himself hurt a few times. Got himself a barking concussion and nearly got himself killed." she said elbowing him.

"Yes Deryn, we all know I'd be dead by now without you." Alek said with a smirk.

"Aye, and I'd be long gone without you." she replied with a genuine smile.

"Long gone, Deryn, what happened?" her mother asked, worry tingeing her voice.

"A lot of things happened, Ma, but if you don't mind I'd rather wait to tell those stories until everyone's here and then I don't have to repeat myself."

"Deryn Elizabeth-Joy Sharp, you are going to tell me everything right now or so help me I will-"

"Ma, can we finish this conversation later. I'd like to bring our things upstairs." Deryn interrupted.

"You're staying? Both of you?"

"Aye, if that's alright?" Deryn asked, although Alek knew she wasn't about to take no as an answer.

"I guess that'd be alright, as long as the prince doesn't mind sharing a room."

"Sharing a room?" Deryn asked, sounding confused, and just a little bit hopeful, or at least that's what Alek thought.

"Aye, with your brother." her mother replied.

"Jaspert's home?" Deryn said, raising her eyebrows, "I thought he was on _The Minotaur_?"

"Aye, he was, that is, until the beast got sick. They had to return to London so the boffins could look at it. Jaspert reckons he'll be home for at least two weeks."

"Well, that's great. I'm sure Alek doesn't mind." she said and Alek shook his head no,

"Why don't we bring these bags up, then?"

"Oh Deryn, honey," Mrs. Sharp said with a rather false looking smile, "You stay and rest your knee. I'll get Jaspert to help Alek. JASPERT, GET DOWN HERE!" she yelled up the stairs.

"Mum, I'm fine. You don't need to baby me."

"Nonsense you're hurt and you ought not to aggravate it."

"That's what I've been telling her." Alek said, which made Mrs. Sharp smile.

"Aye, she never listens." Mrs. Sharp agreed just as a tall, muscular boy came flying down the stairs. "Ahh, Jaspert, nice of you to join us. Deryn's back."

"Aye, how's it going little sister, or would you prefer brother now?"

"Haha, love you, too, Jaz." Deryn said sarcastically, standing up to hug him.

"Nice to see you, Der. And who would you be?" Jaspert asked turning to Alek.

"This is Alek." Deryn told Jaspert, sitting down on the couch next to Alek.

"Nice to meet you." Alek said shaking his hand.

"Wait, are you telling me those rumors about Clankers aboard _The Leviathan_ are true? And you made friends with one?"

"Aye, they are and I did." she replied sheepishly, "But it's okay, Jaspert, he really isn't a proper Clanker, he's on our side. Alek and I are actually both working in London now."

"Really, where?" Jaspert asked.

"The Zoological Society."

"Alright, we can tell all our stories at dinner. For now, Jaspert, will you help Alek bring their bags upstairs? You can put Deryn's in her room and Alek will be staying with you."

"Alright, Mum, but why can't Deryn bring her own stuff up?" he asked innocently.

"I CAN BRING IT UP!" Deryn shouted, trying to stand up, but wincing when she put weight on her knee.

"No you don't!" her mum said, pushing her back against the chair.

"It's okay, I'll be back in five minutes," Alek said standing up and squeezing her shoulder as he passed, then whispering so only she could hear, "It's okay you can do this, I know Dylan could have." That made her scowl and Alek had to hold in his laughter. They'd hardly been in Glasgow an hour and she was already in one of the foulest moods he'd ever seen her in. This was going to be a fun couple of days.


	2. Ch 2: Oh Brother, Oh Mother, Oh Loris

**A/N: So sorry! I mean to get this up sooner but it just hasn't happened! I have a couple of one shots and crap that I'd like to post but I just haven't had the time to edit and post anything. I'm also working on a really great Maximum Ride fic called Institutionalized in honor of Nevermore for any MR fans out there. I probably won't get to post anything else this week because I'm at camp, but the week after their will definitely be stuff because my brother's away at his camp for two whole weeks so I'll have the house to myself. Now on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I am not Scott-La, nor am I Mr. Westerfeld and I most most certainly do not own _any _of his characters**

**Dedication: A friend of mine died yesterday and today would have been his birthday. We weren't really close but I still would have considered him a friend. I know he probably never read _Leviathan _and I don't even think he was a big reader but I couldn't not dedicate this to him.  
****R.I.P. Marc. You would have made a great pilot and you will be missed.**

"So, you're friends with my baby sister?" Despite Deryn's repeated complaints her mother had confined her to the couch, so Jaspert and Alek were trudging up the stairs with their luggage. "How'd you meet? I can't imagine you were part of the crew, Clanker."

"The Leviathan had just had a run in with some German Zeppelins and crash landed on a glacier."

"Blisters, poor beastie." Jaspert cringed.

"Yes, the ship and the crew were in pretty tough shape. When I first showed up at the crash site I found a young middy, passed out in the cold snow. His name was Dylan."

"Aye, that'd be Deryn. How long did it take for you to figure out the truth?"

"I've actually only known for a few months. Pretty daft of me, right?" Alek answered sheepishly.

"I'd say so." Jaspert laughed, "So Alek, I know you're a Clanker, but where are you from? You don't look Swiss."

"That's because I'm Austrian. As a matter of fact I was supposed to be Emperor of all of Austria-Hungary, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen anymore." he said sadly.

"You're a barking prince?" Jaspert gasped, trying to keep his mouth from hanging open.

"Yes, I am."

"Blisters." he said, surprised. "Leave it Deryn to make friends with royalty. Oh, that's her room if you wanna dump her things in there." He gestured to a closed door. "I don't think anyone's been in there since she left."

Alek put his hand on the doorknob and after a moment's hesitation, turned it and opened the door.

The room was definitely Deryn's, that much was obvious. The walls were covered with her sketches: flowers in a field, horses in a barn, the streets of Glasgow, (before joining the Service she had never been to London before) but most of all, the sky. But not just the skyline, Deryn had captured clouds, air beasts, hot air balloons and just about everything else, all drawn with extreme detail and precision. Of course Alek thought her drawings of the _Leviathan_ were much better, she had had more practice by then.

There were skirts and dresses tossed haphazardly around the room, but her one spare airman's uniform was hung carefully in the closet.

"She wanted to alter one more uniform so she'd have a spare but she never got around to it." Jaspert volunteered.

"Yes, she probably could have used it." Alek said quietly. It was strange to think that _this_ room belonged to his fierce, practical airwoman. There were old dolls on the shelves, hair ribbons scattered across the dressing table and books everywhere. It seemed as though Deryn was an avid reader; she had books of fairy tales, murder mysteries (there was quite a large pile of books by a young English author that Alek had never heard of. Agatha Christie must not be very famous but Deryn seemed to like her), science books and of course, stacks and stacks of aeronautics manuals and old, dusty tomes on the history of flying.

Alek went to put Deryn's suit case on her bed when he saw a picture on the night stand.

"Is this your father?" he asked Jaspert

"Aye, it was." the boy replied quietly, "I'd forgotten she had that picture. It was from our last Christmas with him, he died the following April. She had drawn portraits of all of us, mine had too big a nose and Ma's made her look about a foot shorter than she really is, but Da's was spot on perfect. If I didn't know it was a drawing, I'd say it was a photograph."

"You look like him."

"Yeah, but Deryn acts like him. I've always liked flying but I never loved it the way those two did. And if you think Deryn's a good artist you've never seen Da's work. I'll see if I can find some later."

"I'd like that." Alek said, "He seems like he was a good man. I wish I could have met him."

"Aye, he was. He would have liked you. I think you're exactly what Deryn needs and I reckon he would agree."

"Thanks Jaspert," Alek smiled, "That means a lot."

"I meant it. He really would have liked you and not just because Deryn does."

"It's still a little strange to think she spent the first fourteen years of her life here, as a girl."

"Well daftie," Jaspert gave Alek a shove, "She is a girl. Come on, we can drop your stuff in my room. God knows how long Deryn and Mum can last downstairs alone without killing each other."

* * *

"Ma, my knees fine, I hurt it _weeks_ ago." Deryn said very slowly, her mom just didn't get it. Alek and Jaspert had just disappeared upstairs and now she was alone with Virginia Sharpe for the first time since she had run away. This wasn't going to end well.

"Deryn, it's not just your knee, it's your life. You could have died and none of us would have known."

"But Ma," she pleaded, "You just don't get it. If I had stayed right here I would have died; I need to fly just like you need water. Here I couldn't fly but in the Air Service no one thought anything of it."

"Aye, but they didn't know you were a lass, if they did know you would have been in a lot of trouble young lady. You could have gotten us all in trouble. Jaspert would have been dishonorably discharged, your uncles could have lost their jobs, I could have lost the house, and they could have taken away your father's medal, all because we're related to you."

"Bugger!" Deryn swore, "I didn't think of that."

"You sure didn't young lady!" Mrs. Sharpe said angrily, "Now, do you regret what you did?"

"No," Deryn replied defiantly, "I don't regret a minute of it. I do feel bad for the pain that I caused all of you, though."

"Exactly what I wanted to hear."

"Ma, do you forgive me?" Deryn asked hesitantly.

"Of course I do, sweetie." she said pulling her daughter into a warm hug, "You did bring great honor to the family, I got a letter from King George himself about your medal. You saved another middies life?"

"Aye, it wasn't a big deal, just Newkirk being a ninny. Alek and I did a lot more important things than that."

"Aye, that reminds me, Alek isn't really just a friend of yours is he?"

"Oh Ma, he's way more than that!" Deryn exclaimed smiling, "He's my best friend, or at least that's how it started. But now that he knows I'm not a boy, well, I guess we're a little more than just friends."

"Do I hear wedding bells in the near future?" Deryn's Aunt Gertrude poked her head in the room, obviously sick of eavesdropping and just dying to add her own two pence to the conversation. "I'll need a new hat of course! And a dress, too! That old ratty thing I wore to your wedding Virginia just won't do!"

"It's great to see you Auntie Gertrude." she said getting up to hug her aunt, "And gosh I hope so! Not yet of course; we're both still young and most of our friends still think I'm a barking boy, but I do really like him."

"Where is that boy, anyway? Jo said he was quite dashing but I'd like to decide that for myself."

"He's right here!" Jaspert bellowed coming down the stairs closely followed by Alek. Deryn's heart thumped faster and faster when Alek entered the room. It was as if she became a different person entirely when he was in the room. But then again when they first met she was Dylan Sharpe and not Deryn. Now, she didn't know what she was.

"I agree, he is quite handsome." Gertrude whispered to Josephine who was now standing next to her in the doorway.

"I'm happy you approve." Aunt Jo muttered. Happy, that's what Deryn was. Whenever Alek entered the room she was happy.

"I'd better go start dinner." Ma Sharpe said, starting to stand up.

"Sit down, Virginia!" Gertrude scolded. "Irene and Margaret already started it and once the potatoes are in the oven and the haggis is boiling, they said they'd come in and sit with us."

"Potatoes!" Deryn laughed just as Alek frowned, "Haggis?"

"Aye, we thought we'd make something special for you two." Aunt Jo winked.

"Sounds barking great to me." Jaspert licked his lips.

"Oh, well in that case, why don't you two start your story." said Mrs. Sharpe, nodding towards Alek and Deryn to begin.

"Well, I'm sure Jaspert's already told you about my first adventure with the Huxley Ascender." Deryn laughed,

"Believe me I did." he chuckled,

"Aye, barking good story, that one," Deryn agreed.

"Why haven't I heard it then?" Alek asked.

"It was before I met you, daftie."

"Still, I want to hear it." he said crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'll tell you later. Anyway, after that I was picked up by His Majesty's Ship Leviathan where I was hired as a middy even though I hadn't even taken the test. Better than that, when we picked up the lady boffin Dr. Barlow, the one that got Alek and I the jobs at the Zoological Society, I was chosen to be one of two midshipmen to stay on the ship on a journey to the Ottoman Empire. Of course it got really exciting when we crash landed on a glacier in Switzerland and I met-"

"Was saved by," Alek interrupted.

"-was saved by a certain daft Prince."

* * *

"And then the egg hatched and Bovril- Bovril! Barking spiders, Alek, we forgot about Bovril! He's still in my suitcase!" They had been sitting there talking for almost half an hour but due to the fact that Jaspert, the Aunties, her mother and occasionally Alek had interrupted her, she had only gotten to the part of the story where Bovril was born. This had reminded her that he was still tucked safely into her suitcase. Deryn figured that bringing home Alek was enough of a shock for her family and that a wee little beastie would simply add to the drama. Of course she _had_ meant to take it out of the suitcase.

"The suitcase is on your bed. Do you want me to go get it?" Alek asked.

"No, I'll just come with you." she said to Alek and then her mother, "We'll be right back."

"Don't worry sweetie, just be back for dinner in fifteen minutes." Deryn nodded, scrambling up the stairs behind Alek in order to help save the loris.


End file.
